Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols: A High-Flying Love Triangle Story

When I was fourteen, I made a decision. If I was doomed to live in a trailer park next to an airport, I could complain about the smell of the jet fuel like my mom, I could drink myself to death over the noise like everybody else, or I could learn to fly.

Heaven Beach, South Carolina, is anything but, if you live at the low-rent end of town. All her life, Leah Jones has been the grown-up in her family, while her mother moves from boyfriend to boyfriend, letting any available money slip out of her hands. At school, they may diss Leah as trash, but she’s the one who negotiates with the landlord when the rent’s not paid. At fourteen, she’s the one who gets a job at the nearby airstrip.

But there’s one way Leah can escape reality. Saving every penny she can, she begs quiet Mr. Hall, who runs an aerial banner-advertising business at the airstrip and also offers flight lessons, to take her up just once. Leaving the trailer park far beneath her and swooping out over the sea is a rush greater than anything she’s ever experienced, and when Mr. Hall offers to give her cut-rate flight lessons, she feels ready to touch the sky.

By the time she’s a high school senior, Leah has become a good enough pilot that Mr. Hall offers her a job flying a banner plane. It seems like a dream come true . . . but turns out to be just as fleeting as any dream. Mr. Hall dies suddenly, leaving everything he owned in the hands of his teenage sons: golden boy Alec and adrenaline junkie Grayson. And they’re determined to keep the banner planes flying.

Though Leah has crushed on Grayson for years, she’s leery of getting involved in what now seems like a doomed business—until Grayson betrays her by digging up her most damning secret. Holding it over her head, he forces her to fly for secret reasons of his own, reasons involving Alec. Now Leah finds herself drawn into a battle between brothers—and the consequences could be deadly.

Seeing the book synopsis, I had pretty high expectations for this book–despite the fact that it took me a while just to figure out the wording of the synopsis. I mean–Heaven Beach, South Carolina, is anything but, if you live at the low-rent end of town.

But I was still excited about the book.

And I did like it. Grayson, Leah and Alec all grew on me. I had suspected that I wouldn’t like Grayson, but I was in for a pleasant surprise.

However, the choice wasn’t hard. Despite Grayson’s delinquent status, he’s still really sweet. And Alec geez. why does the x and the c keys have to be right next to each other is great, but the choice isn’t hard between the two of them. If Leah had had to choose between Grayson and AlexAlex Alec and the choice was hard like it was between Will and Jem or Conrad and Jeremiahwhy is it never between two girls? then it would’ve been a stronger story.

Moving on from that point, the main thing here for me was the writing. It was good, but there were definitely parts that could’ve been worded better. And it wasn’t just that. Echols’s writing is easy, and I don’t mean it’s easy to read like I usually do when I say that. I mean it’s easy to skim. There are parts that completely over-worded. There were very few chapters where I read every word.

Another thing. What’s up that cover?

Am I the only one who doesn’t understand this:

Or this:

I mean–they’re both pretty when they don’t have their hair everywhere…

Other than these things, the story was fun. I liked the premise of the story. It wasn’t something you see everyday, and it was fun to be able to read about that kind of thing. It felt like a sort of modern, YA, not-about-history, not-a-single-lesson-learned, twist on Flygirl. Proceed with caution. 3.5 stars.

pg count for the hardback: 325

Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols: A High-Flying Love Triangle Story was last modified: May 29th, 2016 by Eli

I'm a book blogger at the The Silver Words and a former blogger at Tweens Read Too. Fantasy is my first love, but I'm also coming to enjoy a lot of contemporary and classic lit. When I'm not blogging, you can find me reading, writing, coding, studying, swimming and skiing. Ice cream is love; the puns are always intended. Find me on Twitter @thesilverwords

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